Penetration failure theory and damage modeling of 2A12 aviation aluminum alloy under high-energy continuous laser irradiation

High-energy laser (HEL) weapons have emerged as a significant threat to thin-walled aerospace structures; however, the damage and failure mechanisms driven by coupled thermo-mechanical effects remain insufficiently understood. This study investigates the penetration failure mechanisms of 2A12 aluminum alloy under CW laser irradiation, and a one-dimensional model is developed to bridge the gap of fast perforation prediction. The model deliberately simplifies the analysis by focusing on dominant heat conduction and phase change processes, decoupling the laser irradiation response into sequential heating and melting stages. This approach yields an analytical expression for the penetration time, validated experimentally with an average error of 6.2% for a 2 mm-thick plate under power densities of 200–400 W/cm². Laser irradiation experiments reveal a characteristic “bag-shaped” damage morphology, and a “sandwich” damage-flow model is proposed to explain the failure process. The combined theoretical and experimental framework offers a reliable and efficient approach for the rapid assessment of laser-induced damage to aircraft structural components.